Thanks for sharing. One of my close college buddies moved to Sweden a couple years after we graduated. I remember when he said, back when we were in our 20s, "Come visit! But, I have to warn you...You won't go back to America." Many years later I believe he was right. He loves it there. And, he hasn't aged a day. Still looks like a kid: all that vacation, all those lovely Swedish ladies, the laid-back mentality. I know they've really had problems with their immigration policy. So have we...

Excellent question. Unfortunately, the government is dominated by political interests which often fail to coincide with personal interests. If the media were held to be more accountable (e.g. more easily sued for publishing false information), then the media might become a credible source. However, right now, the judiciary is shielding the media from falsehoods ... but "that dike is cracking quickly".

Late news- surge in cases and deaths, Swedish gov to bring in 'guidelines' on lockdown.
April 1 2020

Interesting video from the Czech Republic regarding the positive use of masks

https://youtu.be/jZtEX2-n2Hc

Looking at the photo of the restaurant, people are closer than 2-arms lengths but still maintaining a space, those outside more so. Can they resist sneezing at each other?
In a few years we may (or not) have reliable data to see if it worked.

Now HarmonKaslow says, '. . letting their population behave rationally'.
Should government have any obligation or role in providing data,
or recommendations, to assist rational decisions?

Thanks, Lucky, I was going to make the same observation. Sweden may seem to have less direct govenment intervention, but they have far more social control. It is called "Jante."

You're not to think you are anything special.
You're not to think you are as good as we are.
You're not to think you are smarter than we are.
You're not to imagine yourself better than we are.
You're not to think you know more than we do.
You're not to think you are more important than we are.
You're not to think you are good at anything.
You're not to laugh at us.
You're not to think anyone cares about you.
You're not to think you can teach us anything.
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_...

I do agree, though, that the single-individual households speaks volumes.

Low inter-generational mingling, many households of just one person- cold climate, cold people?